ah feck. I forgot about that trade. but yeah. Ricketts is old and he really lost a step this season.Originally Posted by notthesun
ah feck. I forgot about that trade. but yeah. Ricketts is old and he really lost a step this season.
“Years have gone by and I’ve finally learned to accept myself for who I am: a beggar for good football.
I go about the world, hand outstretched, and in the stadiums I plead: ‘A pretty move, for the love of God.’
And when good football happens, I give thanks for the miracle and I don’t give a damn which team or country performs it.”
-Eduardo Galeano
Maybe but they have 4 GKs on the books now and 8 forwards, two of whom are DPs. It's all craziness over there.
Good trade IMO. Johnson was useless, so to me it's essentially Kocic for third overall pick & cap room. Personally I'd have preferred to trade Frei and give Kocic a raise, but what can you do. I'm pretty happy about this if it gets approved (and there's no reason for it not to be).
If we trade our first overall pick, hopefully it's for something useful + a later first rounder.
If they don't think there's a sure-fire talent like Wenger/Mattocks at the top it makes sense to drop down to 3 and shop #1. However I would prefer them to keep both picks and take one of the two top CB's and a forward. Considering they would be GA it's really a no-brainer. Top picks pan out more often then not and at this point the focus should be on acquiring as much talent as possible.
Perhaps they already have a CB on the way from Europe and that's why they want to give up their top pick (which according to Ives will likely be a CB). Either way, good to have options.
Diego Chara is a DM, not a striker
“Years have gone by and I’ve finally learned to accept myself for who I am: a beggar for good football.
I go about the world, hand outstretched, and in the stadiums I plead: ‘A pretty move, for the love of God.’
And when good football happens, I give thanks for the miracle and I don’t give a damn which team or country performs it.”
-Eduardo Galeano
Mariner is an idiot.
Yes frei is qualit, but he'll head across the pond as soon as he can....Frei also is a softy in the air and struggles on set pieces.
Kocic was MLS perfect. Not as good a shot stopper, but a big, imposing keeper who was strong enough to impose his will. He would have been a long term option in net. Mariner didnt want him because he showed disloyalty to the team, a team that had nothing left to play for, when he missed games to be with his sick newborn...
Mariners an idiot. Kocic is character. Ill miss him.
Portland will likely run a 4-3-3, which is a better fit for Johnson than our 4-4-2. I'm not a huge fan of Johnson's - he can't finish balls not inside the six yard box (as evidenced from his penalty miss). But he works hard and does chip in enough goals to make him valuable. He'll like being in that system much better I'm sure.
Hate losing Kocic. Quality guy. Hope he gets a raise in Portland ffs.
Ah, I had that wrong. Still, 8 forwards (forgot Valencia) including an expensive Mwanga and Boyd plus Johnson. Lots of cash being used for only 3 available spots.
Nothing official from either team that I have seen, however it seems Kocic and Johnson are now on Portland's roster.
http://www.portlandtimbers.com/players
Remember, on the TFC site, don't just look at the pretty picture; click News
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Getting allocation and a back-up keeper makes it more worthwhile imo.
This is pure truth. Frei was extremely shaky in that game vs LA at home, got replaced by Kocic, and then injured. He also makes more than what Kocic likely would have even if he got a raise. Then Mariner comes out and publicly states that Kocic has no chance of competing for the #1 spot because it will automatically be handed to Frei without any competition. I'm happy for Kocic that he can go to a team where he has a chance of competing for the #1 spot and has a chance of getting a raise (here if you ask for a raise, you're seen as disloyal and discarded).
I think the Frei overseas thing is dead in the water now for at least a few seasons and in my opinion he was much better at controlling the box than Kocic. For a big guy Kocic didn't really get out there and claim balls in the box and his distribution was absolutely terrible. Horrible actually. I was all pro-Kocic at the beginning of last season, even before Frei busted his leg but after seeing him for nearly the whole season it was clear to me who was better.
Also, this would be Payne's handy work now. Not Mariner's.
http://www.portlandtimbers.com/news/...013-superdraft
Reporting that TFC also get some allocation money out of this. Nice piece of business IMO
“Years have gone by and I’ve finally learned to accept myself for who I am: a beggar for good football.
I go about the world, hand outstretched, and in the stadiums I plead: ‘A pretty move, for the love of God.’
And when good football happens, I give thanks for the miracle and I don’t give a damn which team or country performs it.”
-Eduardo Galeano
Bendik made league minimum last year, so not much of a cap hit at all.
Bendik and Kocic are standard backup GKs, so they cancel each other out. This trade is Ryan Johnson for the 3rd pick overall. Not sure how I feel about this on paper, but if Johnson was committed to leaving or was otherwise unhappy here, it's pretty good compensation.
I would prefer TFC draft either CBs Andrew Farrell or Walker Zimmerman, as Ives suggested earlier today, with the first pick and trade the 3rd pick. We need one starting CB and we can trade the third pick for a starting CM.
I like this quote from Payne. He actually sounds like he has a plan and vision, and wants to stick to it, as evidenced from day 1 here.
Payne added “We have a lot of work to do, from a roster and a salary cap standpoint, and this is a first step. Our objective is to put together a group of young, talented, athletic and hungry players that we can keep together for years to come.”
He probably was unhappy plus he made too much $$$ for what he brought. You can get better for less. Toss in whatever magical allocation amount we have coming and this is a win.
I'm pleased Johnson is gone. I don't think he's a bad player, I just didn't feel he's a player that fits what Toronto is doing. He always seemed to be on a different page, passing when it's not there, shooting a difficult shot when a pass is there, just always seemed of sync.
His frustration and quit level is something I found bothersome as well. Again, talented player, but I'm glad he's gone personally. I think it'll make the team better overall in the short and long run.
Kocic on the other hand, will be missed. I agree he was a good fit for an MLS keeper, but it seems politics paved the way for this one, so it is what it is.
Decent haul in return. Guess they have faith in the 2013 draft class studs to want to take two of them, unless another deal is in mind.
Funny how Frei goes a whole season without playing, but stays on the team. Are we just assuming he'll be the same GK? How do we know for sure. It's risky to give up Kocic without knowing. Not to mention, if Frei gets hurt again.....I don't even want to think about it.
Also funny how Lindsey was in the exact same situation and wasn't even given a second chance.
TFC land-TFC trade is official, with Toronto also receiving GK Joe Bendik and allocation money along w/No. 3 overall pick in 2013 draft
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Bendik
https://twitter.com/SoccerByIves
http://www.soccerbyives.net/2012/12/breaking-timbers-set-to-trade-first-round-pick-to-tfc-for-johnson-kocic.html
Last edited by tfcmanu; 12-12-2012 at 03:09 PM.
So where does this leave Freddy Hall? I thought he was our backup goalkeeper? Also, he doesn't fit in Payne's vision (younger and athletic player).
Lindsay's injury and Frei's injury were completely different.
I am definitely going to miss Kocic though. Has Frei ever stopped a PK?
hopefully it leaves him as a free agent. With our luck though, it leaves him with a contract and taking up an international spot
Freddy we hardly knew ya.
He stopped one in preseason two years ago, only to rebound it right onto the shooter's feet. And his form while trying to stop one is bad enough to make a grown man cry.
I think Kocic is getting a bit of that Avila and Cordon hometown bias. He was surely better than them two but when compared to other GKs league-wide, he is just another MLS GK.
so in the end of the day we're still stuck with 4 gks in a salary cap league.... Unless we get rid of hall then bringing in Bendik is a stupid move. Don't mind Johnson going, hate to see Kocic gone though.
Didn't Mariner offer him a 2 year extension before Payne came in?
Hall determined to keep his number one jersey
“We’re in (contract) negotiations right now and hopefully everything will be sorted in the next few weeks so I can be ready for preseason."
also
Hall is likely to be joined in preseason by Robin Hood striker Antwan Russell who has been invited to return to BMO Field in January after impressing during a recent trial.
Last edited by SirBobSaget; 12-12-2012 at 03:37 PM.
Hall can be dumped. Not resigned as far as I know. Talks were ongoing. Roberts can as well but I say he gets loaned out to the CSL. All I have to say is Bendik > Hall by a mile. That is an improvement. And yeah, Kocic was a good back up but he wanted a substantial raise (and a chance to start) and that's why he is gone. In a salary capped league you can't overpay backup GKs.
So in this trade we swapped back up GKs, and sent an overpaid RJ away for the 3rd pick and allocation.
In a ton of earlier threads people on here bemoaned the acquiring of Hassli for a 1st rounder which has no guarantee of being 3rd spot or higher (hopefully not). A first rounder was said to be very important and it should not have been traded away, even for a DP. So here Portland just did the same thing only for a player who scores less goals and they also included allocation.
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